Two Peas
by spottedhorse
Summary: Complimentary story to 'His Face.' Wriiten from 'her' point of view. Set years later. Hope you enjoy.


She sat across the room, watching them; two heads bent over the latest speciman. One was grey, had been for years. The other, shaped and curled like the older one, but not grey, a sandy red. The grey hair was cut short, the curls tighter than the longer sandy curls that relaxed on the head of the younger man. Yes, she had to admit to herself, he was a man now.

College graduation was only two months away. He had followed in his father's footsteps; well sort of. Biology was his major. But his concentration had been in smaller lifeforms than his father had studied. Still, the two enjoyed observing life together and studied it closely. In the early years, the study had been in the father's specialty but as the son had developed his own interests, the study shifted. When he was little, still a boy, his bright blue eyes had shone with pride whenever he looked at his father. Over the years, the older version of those eyes had taken on that look of pride as the father looked upon the son.

She remembered back to the night that she had first told him that they were expecting. He had been shocked, frightened even. He barely knew how to be a husband, he had said...how could he ever learn to be a father? And the night their son was born; he had cried. At first his tears had been for her pain but when the nurse put the baby in his arms, the tears had changed; awe mixed with fear and joy...and yes, pride. He had held many babies...as far as she knew this was the first one that was alive in his arms. Her heart nearly broke as she realized his relief to see the baby breathe.

She had seen him deal with the most gruesome scenes through their work. Dead bodies had little effect on him. But she had laughed at his first encounter with the baby's first diaper. A snapshot of his face as he had unwrapped the package was forever etched in her mind. Later the little league ball games had given him a new interest in life...his son the baseball prodigy...in his mind anyway. The elementary school years had been fun for her to watch. Dad always knew more than the teachers, to the frustration of every teacher the boy ever had. She had finally banned him from the parent/teacher conferences.

The inevitable testing had begun in the third grade. A genius, they had said. No surprise to her. And of course, he had known it all along. The boy had been placed in the talented and gifted program. Father had been pleased, but not surprised. High school had been a revelation to the father."I don't remember all this stuff going on when I was in school," he had commented. "That's because you had your nose stuck in a book all the time," she had replied.

Over the years, she had seen his job wear him down; robbing him of his sense of adventure and discovery; changing her quirky, often funny and clueless geek into a weary, disheartened, very seious man. His son had saved him, bringing back some of his younger self...adding years to his lifetime, she suspected.

Today they were studying a slide under the microscope...some little bug...bacteria that the boy, no the young man, was studying in his classes. Both were fascinated. She was fascinated as she watched them. A familiar feeling welled up inside of her; yes, she too felt pride. Pride in her husband, that he had turned out to be such a good father in spite of his fears to the contrary. His gentleness and care had been a cornerstone of his parenting style. His inate attention to detail had driven mother and son a little crazy from time to time, but it was also one of the qualities that they both loved about him. She felt pride in the son. He was every mother's dream...smart, handsome, funny...a real charmer; and so considerate of his parents, very unusual at his young age. And she also felt pride in herself. She'd done a good job with him.

Two peas in a pod she had called them, since the boy had begun to toddle. At that point in his young life, she had observed that the two walked alike. Thankfully the boy had outgrown the toddle but the father's had only worsened over the years. As he had grown, the son had taken on more of the father's habits. Today, she could see a younger version of the man who had first claimed her heart forty years ago.

She enjoyed watching them; her two peas. She understood that these opportunites would become less frequent. The son would be stepping out into his own life soon and not be around as much. And, it saddened her to consider, most of her time with her husband was behind them. Time was catching up to them both. She intended to make the most of whatever years they had left; she knew he did too. As if he knew what she was thinking, his head lifted and his blue eyes found hers. There were no words to describe what passed between them. Words can't define what two people feel; two people who have spent a lifetime together, raising a child, caring for and comforting one another, growing together until one is never sure where he or she ends and the other begins. It was all there, in his look. She smiled at him and his eyes softened even more. The younger head looked up too; first at one parent and then the other. The look they shared did not escape him. Two peas in a pod, he thought as he observed them. Different but the same...joined forever.

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If you hadn't guessed on the first story 'His Face,' you should have been able to guess by now. Hope you enjoyed. As always, reviews and comments are welcome!


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